The 28th Deaf Festival, a month-long celebration of the accomplishments of the Deaf community, is currently on-going at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Taft Campus to commemorate Deaf Awareness Week, as declared through Proclamation No. 829 of the National Council on Disability Affairs.

Established in November 1995 by the college’s Deaf students from the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies (SDEAS), the fete has since become a tradition to promote awareness and appreciation of their unique identity and culture. It likewise serves as a venue to enrich their knowledge, skills and creativity.

The 28th Deaf Festival is ongoing until Friday, November 25, 2022.

Themed Defining Servant Leadership in Rebuilding, this year’s event features a series of virtual and in-person activities.

The affair was kicked off with a Mass and Opening Ceremony at the Taft Campus Chapel.

The line-up includes an art exhibition that illustrates the inventiveness and individuality of Filipino Deaf artists.

There are also bazaars of small local businesses owned and managed by the Deaf to help raise funds for the scholars.

Lectures which features accomplished Deaf advocates, leaders, athletes, and SDEAS alumni, will be conducted.

Workshops on digital art as well as finance, accounting, and insurance are to be administered to motivate and assist towards the professional life.

For hearing participants, a Deaf awareness orientation program is scheduled to enable them to engage and empathize with the community. This is in conjunction with a webinar on Filipino Sign Language (FSL) to equip themselves with the necessary knowledge to pursue it as a profession.

The culminating cultural show, titled The Face Mask, will present diverse music and dance numbers which highlights performing arts as a universal language.

The festival serves as a platform for the Deaf students to showcase their skills in storytelling through theatrical mime performances as well as their talent in singing as they immerse the audience into the sound of signs.

For more information, visit the official Facebook pages of the Deaf Festival (https://www.facebook.com/SDEASDeafFestival) and Benilde SDEAS (https://www.facebook.com/DlsCsbSchoolOfDeafEducationAndAppliedStudies).